Idol Chatter has seen Kris perform live twice and he is worth the price of admission.

• Lee DeWyze has signed with Vanguard Records…he plans on releasing a single and an album sometime soon…he was dropped by his original employer 19R/Sony cause of slow sales of his song “Live It Up”…

* Andrew Garcia has come out with a single entitled “Dumb” … early reviews say it’s not bad…can be downloaded on iTunes…

• It’s still a go for Crystal Bowersox’s new album to be released in March…Jakob Dylan is involved so it should be good…

• AI executive producer Nigel Lythgoe on whether Idol will ever have hip hop music as a genre: “I don’t believe so. I believe rap is an art form in itself. More akin to poetry, more akin to drama. Rap in the street, when they have rap competitions is thrilling because these kids are making it up and having a go to each other. Hip hop is a way of life, it isn’t a genre in truth, in American Idol.”

• Phillip Phillips, among other things, recently said he doesn’t plan to watch this season of AI and that many people have come up to him since he won last spring and claim to be a distant relative. His response: “I might have a creepy family.”

• Allison Iraheta, season 8, is singing with a new band named Halo Circus. During the past year she has been pretty much outta sight and outta mind.

• Syesha Mercado is releasing a new single on Valentine’s Day titled “You Don’t Even Know Me.”

• Casey James has a new single out also – “Crying On A Suitcase.”

• Jessica Sanchez, former Chula Vista resident now living in L.A., will perform in concert on Valentine’s Day in the Philippines with Colton Dixon.